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THURSDAY HtBKCARY ! 7 < More than a century of covering our community | Get updates at forsythnews.com | 50C Women’s group tackles networking | 1B official Leaders seal deal on facility By Crystal Ledford crystalledford@forsythnews.com Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt said students could be attending classes at a local college campus within 12 to 18 months. His remarks came during the regu¬ lar meeting of the Cumming City Road ready for work Repaving of Market Place set to begin By Crystal Ledford crystalledford@forsythnews.com Delayed several months, a much-anticipated Cumming road project was expected to begin Wednesday night. Jimmy Vaughan of engi¬ neering firm Moreland Altobelli told city leaders during a meeting Tuesday that repaving a stretch of Market Place Boulevard would occur between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. Wednesday through Friday. “We felt working at night would have a lot less impact on all the shopping and traffic through there,” Vaughan said. The project, which is being handled by C.W. Matthews, involves about two-thirds of a mile, from Buford Dam Road to Hwy. 20. It’s projected to cost more than $300,000, with the state Department of Transportation paying for about half of that. The project along the retail corridor has been held up since November, when it was first scheduled for completion prior to the Thanksgiving shopping season. Rain, however, put a damper on those plans. The effort was further delayed in late November when work crews failed to show up as scheduled, despite better con¬ ditions. Since then, weather has continued to be the culprit. Crews required at least three days of no rain and tempera¬ tures above 55 degrees. Near spring-like conditions this week have finally allowed the project to start. “Everything’s in place, the DOT’s already out there,” Vaughan said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish this by 5 a.m. Saturday." lfllfllfllfllflll Man charged with impersonating officer 2A Council on Tuesday, when North Georgia College & State University and the city signed an official letter ol intent to develop a campus off Pilgrim Mill Road. Last week, the Georgia Board of Regents gave its blessing to the new “instructional site," which will also include Gainesville State College. The campus will offer both two- and four-year undergraduate and gradu¬ ate programs. It will be part of a 70-acre site that See CAMPUS 1 3A GETTING A HEAD START X ■j t w iili* / r * * m 4 % ft Panel: County should build, run own shelter By Alyssa LaRenzie alyssalarenzie@forsythnews.com A group tasked with exploring the local animal shelter dilemma recommend ed Tuesday that Forsyth County build and operate its Challenge is in ‘building’ Haiti, Lecture series kicks off second season By Julie Arrington juliearrington@forsythnews.com North Georgia College & State University kicked off its second "Great Decisions” lec- Inside Volume 102, Number 28 ©2011, Forsyth County News Gumming, Georgia own facility. I he recommendation of the Forsyth County Animal Control & Shelter Advisory Committee will go to the county commission, which could vote on the issue tonight. ture ser ‘ es Tuesday night with a talk about “Rebuilding Haiti. Held at the Sharon Forks branch of the Forsyth County Public Library, the discussion was led by Tamara Spike, an associate professor of history at the school. Spike gave an overview of Abby 4B Business IB Classifieds 3B Deaths 2A Horoscopes 2A Opinion SA Sports 5B K Central girls advance | 5B 9 * I * •» Crystal Ledford Forsyth County News Officials gather as Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt, seated left, and NGCSU President David Potter sign an agreement for a college campus in the city. Photos by Autumn McBride Forsyth County News North Forsyth High stu¬ dents Carlos Alarcon, left, and Alex Espinoza research possible jobs involving Spanish translation. The two are part of teacher Robert Lopez's workplace Spanish class at North, which prepares students for jobs in translating and interpreting. Left, Maria Garcia talks about her expe¬ rience in the program. For more, see Business, IB. If the commissioners approve the concept, the committee will next look at options for funding, site loca tion and other specifics, At its Tuesday meeting, the See SHELTER 13A Haiti’s history and events that led up to the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake. At the time, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. “One of the reasons why this 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale of an earthquake was so destructive is because of the 2\ Group appeal seeks of design decision. Spill gets into creek EPD may levy fine By Crystal Ledford crystalledford@forsythnews.com About 10,000 gallons of sewage spilled near Bald Ridge Creek earlier this week, Cumming officials said. Jon Heard, director of the city utilities department, said the spill was reported to the Environmental Protection Division, as well as the Forsyth County Health Department and nearby governments. He said (he EPD likely will fine the city for the incident, which occurred near the Columns at Pilgrim Mill apart¬ ment homes off Freedom Parkway, though it will be a few weeks before an amount is known Heard said crews became aware of the spill about 6 p.m. Monday, after a nearby resident complained of the odor. He said they worked until dark trying to find the cause. Their efforts resumed early Tuesday, with the source pin¬ pointed about 8:30 a.m. “A force main had a joint come apart,” Heard said. “The ground had been graded and had a steep slope. It looked like the earth had settled and caused the bell joint in the main to come apart.” Heard said it took crews most of Tuesday to “remediate the spill” and repair the damaged joint. “Within about 20 to 30 min¬ utes of finding the cause of the spill, we had it stopped,” said Heard, who noted a second, functioning force main was nearby. “We turned the broke one off and used the good one. It was able to stay off until we repaired it.” Heard said crews used lime and hay to clean up the area, which they also reseeded. The department will monitor Bald Ridge Creek over the next several months to “make sure bacteria levels stay low,” he said. environment of Haiti,” Spike said. “Haiti has suffered from profound deforestation and profound soil erosion.” She said the literacy rate in the population of nearly 10 million is below 60 percent. For the past couple of decades, See HAITI |3A Friends get ready for library benefit. 64/45 Forecast 12A